Package filling and closing machine



P 17, 1963 A. GRIAFINGHOLT 3,103,771 I PACKAGE FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE Filed June 8, 1961 Fig. 7 2

o o o o i/w 4 b United States Patent PACKAGE FILLHN G AND CLUSHNG MACHlNE Alfred Griifingholt, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, Germany,

assignor to Fa. Fr. Hesser Maschinenfabrik-Aktiengesellschaft, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed June 8, 1961, Ser. No. 115,756 Claims priority, application Germany dune 13, 1960 9 Claims. (Cl. 53-95) This invention relates to apparatus used in a package filling and closing machine, for evacuating and (optionally) gas filling bag packages and comprising at least one chamber which can be made airtight and in which the packages are treated. In particular this invention is con cerned with apparatus of the form described in my copending Serial No. 28,727, new U.S. Patent 3,006,120 dated October 31, 1961, in which the or each chamber comprises a head piece which is provided with an annular sealing surface and has, in addition to a pair of pivotally movable heat sealing jaws, a package carrier which is suspended beneath these jaws from said head piece and is equipped with a holder or conveyor which accommodates the packages, and a bell which can be raised md lowered and in its raised and working position is applied against the aforesaid sealing surface so as to close the chamber and confine the suspended package in this enclosure.

This apparatus is particularly and advantageously suited to the evacuation and gas filling of bags which have an outer carton. In this type of package the level of the contents, which varies from case to case in accordance with the particular density of the contents, has no influence on the appearance of the finished package. However, in the case of flexible packages, such as simple bags or double-wall bags, it is desirable to apply the closure fold of the bag directly against the upper level of the commodity in the bag so as to produce a firm package with a neatly closed appearance.

Now, in using apparatus of the form described in copending application Serial No. 28,727, now US. Patent 3,006,120 dated October 31, 1961, it is found most advantageous to flatten the mouth of a bag package before it is brought into the evacuating chamber, and to cut and tack it. These steps, however, involve difiiculty inasmuch as it comes about that the surfaces supporting the bag packages are at different conveyance heights, and these generally will not coincide with the levels appropriate for transfer into the respective evacuating chambers and the heights of the evacuating chambers themselves.

'It is an object of this invention to enable the closure parts of a bag package to be brought automatically into correct position in relation to the sealing jaws in the evacuating chamber into which it is introduced.

A further object is the provision of an apparatus for this purpose which includes an abutment device fixed relatively to said head piece and means in said chamber movably pressing a package in said holder against said abutment device.

As a result the sealing seam always comes at the right place in relation to the level of the shoulders of the bag package so that, when the mouth of the bag is folded in, the .area of the sealing seam is disposed outside the fold and the tightness of the package is ensured.

Two embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, it being understood that the invention is not limited to the particular details of these embodiments. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 illustrates the head piece and package carrier of an evacuating chamber in accordance with the first embodiment of (the invention.

FIGURE 2 shows the evacuating chamber of FIG "ice URE 1 in closed condition, and completed by application of the bell.

FiGURE 3 is a perspective illustration of the package carrier of FIGURES 1 and 2.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a modified form of evacuating chamber and package carrier.

In both embodiments illustrated the packaging carrier in the evacuating chamber is denoted T and has an insertion holder 7 accommodating the package P.

In the embodhnent illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 3 this holder 7 comprises two angled members 102, each of which is rigidly fastened to a vertical web 101, and side plates 103 which are fixed to the package carrier T and which are turned inwards towards each other at right angles ,at the upper end so as to form spaced abutments 104- defining a central slot for the passage of the flattened upstanding mouth of the package bag P inserted in the holder 7.

The vertical webs 101 are held upright and displaceable against the aforesaid side plates 10-3 and, for this purpose, have elongated holes 105 through which pass the stem portions of headed screws 106 which are screwed into the plates 103. When a package P is inserted into the holder 7, and when it is taken out again, the vertical webs 101 and the angled members 102 fall under gravity into a bottom position which is determined by the bottom edges of the holes 105.

In order to bring the pre-folded closure parts of the bag package P, to be closed, automatically into correct position in relation to the welding plane of the heat sealing jaws 6, rockably mounted about fixed pivot points in the head piece 4, i.e. in such a way that there is always a constant distance between the sealing seam and the shoulder of the package, the vertical webs 101 and the angled members 102 are displaced upwards an amount which is dependent on the respective height of filling of the package concerned, until the shoulders of the package are applied against the 'abutrnents 104. Advantageously this movement is performed during closing of the evacuating chamber by the forward stroke of the hell 5 which defines the lower part of this chamber.

In pursuance of this aim, and to enable part of this movement to be transmitted to the holder 7, the hell 5 has abutment shoulders 107 opposite the webs 101 and these abutments are arranged to act on co-operating engagement means, generally denoted 108 in the drawings, which are arranged on the holder 7 or its webs 101, so as to transmit a part of the end phase of the closure stroke of the hell 5 to the webs 101 and the angled members 102.

The aforesaid engagement means comprise, at each side of the holder, a plunger 109 which is fastened to the associated web 101, and a corresponding sleeve 110 which is telescopically mounted on the pin 109 and is adapted for abutting engagement with the corresponding shoulder 107 of the bell. Installed in the axial bore in each sleeve 110 receiving plunger 109 is a compression spring 111 which strives to move the corresponding sleeve downwards on the plunger. The degree of travel of the sleeve in this way is limited by a pin 112 on the plunger 109, this moving in an associated elongated hole 113 in the sleeve 110.

When the evacuating chamber is closed by lifting the bell 5 up against the sealing surface of the head piece 4, by means of pneumatically operated cylinder units, as shown and described in the aforementioned copending application, the lower end faces of the sleeves 110 are duly contacted by the shoulders 107 on the hell 5 and thereafter during this stroke the sleeves 110 are lifted upwards a predetermined minimum distance. A part of this travel corresponding to the distance between the shoulders of the inserted bag package P and the abutments 164 is transmitted by the springs 11 1 and plungers 109 to the webs 1G1, whilst the remainder of the travel is taken up by the springs 111, whereby the shoulders of the packages P are not only pressed resiliently against the abutments Ill-i, but the distance between these shoulders and the sealing zone of the heat sealing jaws 6 is always the same.

It will be understood that it is possible, alternatively, to fix the resiliently-acting engagement means 108 to the bell 5 and to have these co-operate with stops on the Webs 101.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 4, each of the insertion holders 7 is composed of two pieces of sheet metal 115 bent into U-form and having the upper angled parts thereof forming the abutments 104. When a bag package P is introduced it is placed on angled lower bottom parts 116 of these pieces 115, between which a gap is left. A resilient spring element, for example a powerfully compressible pad 117 of foamed material or the like, is fixed on the bottom of the hell 5 so that it can be used to lift the package P against the aforesaid abutments 194-. During the upward travel of the bell 5, this pad or equivalent passes through the aforesaid gap or space between thebottom parts 116, so as to be applied against the bottom of the package P and press the shoulders of the latter resiliently against the abutrnents 104. In the end part of the forward travel of the hell 5, and after the package P has already been applied against the abutme-nts 164, the pad 117 yields and is compressed, thereby compensating any differences in height between individual packages P.

I claim:

1. In a package filling and closing machine comprising at least one package-evacuating chamber including a head piece, heat sealing jaws mounted on said head piece, a package carrier suspended from said head piece, a package insertion holder supported by said carrier, -a bell for airtight application against said head piece, and apparatus for automatically positioning a package relative to said heat sealing jaws comprising an abutment device fixed relatively to said head piece, and means in said chamber biasing a package in said holder against said abutment device.

2. in a package filling and closing machine comprising at least one package-evacuating chamber including a head piece, heat sealing jaws mounted on said head piece, a package carrier suspended 'firom said head piece, a package insertion holder supported by said carrier, and apparatus for automatically positioning a package relative to said heat sealing jaws comprising an abutment device fixed relatively to said head piece, 'and resilient means bias-ing a package in said holder upwardly against said abutment device in response to closure of the bell against said head piece.

3. Package-positioning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the movable package holder has a packagesupporting bottom, and resiliently-yieldable thrust means positioned between the bell and said movable bottom.

4. Package-positioning apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which said thrust means comprise telescopic members, spring means connected to the members for opposing telescopic thrust movement therebetween, and stop means connected to the members for limiting their relative telescopic movement.

5. Package-positioning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the package holder is apertured at least at its bottom part, and said bell carries resiliently springy means which is positioned to pass through said apertured bottom, to thereby exert a resilient pressure on a package in said holder, in response to closure of said bell against said head piece.

6. In a package filling and closing machine at least one package-evacuating chamber comprising a head piece, heat sealing jaws mounted on said head piece, a package carrier suspended from said head piece, a package insertion holder supported by said carrier, said holder including a pair of opposed package-guiding side walls, and an apertured top wall allowing for the passage therethrough of the upstanding lips of a closed package into the zone of said heat sealing jaws, said apertured top wall forming an abutment device for the shouldens of said package, a bell for airtight application against said head piece and means for resiliently urging a paeleage upwardly in said holder in response to closure of said bell against said head piece.

7. In a package filling and closing machine at least one package-evacualin g chamber comprising a head piece, heat sealing jaws mounted on said head piece, a package carrier suspended from said head piece, a package insertion holder supported by said carrier, said holder including a pair of opposed package-guiding side walls, and an apertured top wall allowing for the passage therethrough of the upstanding lips of a closed package into the zone of said heat sealing jaws, said apertured top wall forming an abutment device for the shoulders of said package and package bottom support brackets slidable relatively to said side walls, a bell for airtight application against said head piece and resiliently telescopic devices carried by said side walls and said support brackets respectively and positioned for engagement by said bell in response to closure thereof against said head piece.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, in which each said telescopic device comprises a plunger depending from an arm on one of said support brackets, a sleeve attached to the corresponding side wall and receiving said plunger, and a spring between the plunger and the bottom of said sleeve.

9. In a package filling and closing machine at least one package-evacuating chamber comprising a head piece, heat sealing jaws mounted on said head piece, a package car- .rier suspended from said head piece, a package insertion References Uted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kronquest et al Mar. 18, 1941 Gmafingholt Oct. 31,1961 

1. IN A PACKAGE FILLING AND CLOSING MACHINE COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE PACKAGE-EVACUATING CHAMBER INCLUDING A HEAD PIECE, HEAT SEALING JAWS MOUNTED ON SAID HEAD PIECE, A PACKAGE CARRIER SUSPENDED FROM SAID HEAD PIECE, A PACKAGE INSERTION HOLDER SUPPORTED BY SAID CARRIER, A BELL FOR AIRTIGHT APPLICATION AGAINST SAID HEAD PIECE, AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY POSITIONING A PACKAGE RELATIVE TO SAID HEAT SEALING JAWS COMPRISING AN ABUTMENT DEVICE FIXED RELATIVELY TO SAID HEAD PIECE, AND MEANS IN SAID CHAMBER BIASING A PACKAGE IN SAID HOLDER AGAINST SAID ABUTMENT DEVICE. 